Philippine Muslim rebels said yesterday they had beheaded one of three Americans taken hostage in May at a southern beach resort.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she had no confirmation of the rebel Abu Sayyaf's claim but vowed to crush the group.
"The reported beheading ... only strengthens our resolve to decimate once and for all this cold-blooded bandit group," Arroyo said in an Independence Day address.
Soldiers were scouring the jungle for hostages and said the search would continue into the night.
The Abu Sayyaf told RMN radio station they had beheaded tourist Guillermo Sobero, 40, from Corona, California.
"We have executed Guillermo Sobero as a gift to the country on Independence Day," rebel spokesman Abu Sabaya said.
He said Sobero's body was left for the troops to find. "The military better hurry up in the rescue because they may not recover anyone alive," he added.
Sobero's brother, speaking in the US, told reporters the State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation had called him and said they were unable to confirm the rebels' claim.
"I still have hope that my brother is still alive," he said.
Sobero was one of three Americans and 17 Filipinos kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf on May 27 from the island of Palawan, 560km south of Manila.
Nine of the Filipino hostages have escaped or been rescued while two have been found dead, apparently executed by the rebels.
The Abu Sayyaf have since taken four hostages from a hospital and church complex in Basilan, an island 900km south of Manila, and at least 15 more from a village in Lantawan on the same island.
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